Karnataka Covid-19 wrap: No restrictions on inter-state travel, says health minister

Last week, the Karnataka government had made it mandatory for people arriving from Kerala and Maharashtra to carry a negative RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours, following the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in those states.

The Karnataka Health Minister on Monday clarified that there are no restrictions on travel to Maharashtra and Kerala, but the RT-PCR test report is compulsory while entering Karnataka.

Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar, also said that the government is taking measures to prevent a second possible Covid wave in the state.

Last week, the Karnataka government had made it mandatory for people arriving from Kerala and Maharashtra to carry a negative RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours, following the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in those states.

“I would like to clarify this, we have not imposed any restrictions on passengers travelling from Kerala, Maharashtra or any other state to Karnataka. For inter-state travellers there is no restriction,” Sudhakar said.

“Karnataka has made it mandatory for people arriving in the state to have a negative RT-PCR certificate that is not older than 72 hours,” he added.

Marshalls to be deployed in wedding halls

The Karnataka government has planned to deploy Marshalls in marriage halls to ensure Covid-19 guidelines are followed.

“Marshalls will be deployed in marriage halls to ensure Covid guidelines are followed. People attending large gatherings are not following the guidelines. In Fact, people urged me to remove the face mask when I attended a function. Therefore, it is necessary to deploy a Marshall to ensure the Covid guidelines are followed. Not more than 500 people are allowed in a gathering and a face mask is compulsory for all. Catering service providers will also be instructed to get tested before they render service,” Health minister Sudhakar said after a video conference with all District Administrations.

“Meetings and gatherings are happening in violation of the Covid guidelines. We may have to enforce strict guidelines if cases are increased. We don’t want a situation like Maharashtra where lockdown has been reimposed in certain areas,” Sudhakar added.

CM Yediyurappa monitoring vaccination drive

Karnataka has so far administered vaccines to more than 4.24 lakh health department employees and 1.20 lakh front line warriors first dose of Covid vaccine. “We are cleaning up registration data by eliminating duplicate entries. We have a target of 80% and 90% coverage for Health department staff and front line warriors respectively by the end of this month. All officials have been requested to get the dose,” said Sudhakar.

He also said that Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa himself is monitoring the vaccination drive and will be conducting a video conference with officials this weekend. “Bengaluru is lagging in vaccination. Bagalkot, Bengaluru, Dharwad have registered less than 50% coverage. Chikkaballapura (79%), Tumkur (78%) Uttara Kannada (73%), Gadag (71%), Chikmagalur(70%) and Chamarajnagar(70%) have achieved more than 70%. Gadag (84%) and Tumkur (71%) are ahead in covering front line warriors. Bagalkot (23%), Bengaluru Urban (26%) and Chamrajanagar (27%) are lagging behind and it is instructed to all districts to achieve 80% target,” he explained.

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